


A Quirk of the Law

by horatiofrog



Category: 13 Reasons Why (TV)
Genre: Adoptive family, Family, Gen, Law, Quirks of law
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-05
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2019-06-22 10:46:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15580248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/horatiofrog/pseuds/horatiofrog
Summary: Justin learns some interesting news about his criminal record...and Bryce's.





	A Quirk of the Law

**Author's Note:**

> All the legal stuff came right from the California legal statutes (there's a website, I looked it up). As far as I can ascertain, the information presented in this fic is accurate. I'm not a lawyer, nor am I from California. Be advised.

Justin Foley sat at the kitchen table in a foul mood.  Several leaflets and informational papers took up most of the small space around him.

“Hi, Justin.  Where’s Clay?”

“Hm?  Oh, hi Lainie.  Clay’s over at Tony’s.  I think he mentioned something about staying for dinner.  Tony’s mom was making enchiladas or something?”

Lainie Jensen smiled.  “Yep.  Enchilada night.  I think Clay would move in there if she made those every day.”

“You guys don’t make them?  I mean, _I_   like the food here.  It’s great.”

Lainie ruffled Justin’s hair.  It had gotten a bit longer since his stay in juvie.  He almost needed a haircut.  The woman made a mental note to ask her second child about it.  “Well, we’re glad you like it.  But I’m told Mexican food made traditionally is second-to-none.”

“I dunno.”  The teenager turned his gaze back onto the reams of information sprawled before him and gave a little sigh.  “This sucks.”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s…we gotta go to this job fair thing next week.  This is some of the information on what careers and sh—I mean, stuff, might be there.”  Lainie noticed the effort Justin placed in trying to tone down his rough language.  He was trying to make more of an effort with adults, but get a band of his friends over and the conversations could scarcely pass FCC regulations.  She knew it was typical of teenage boys – Clay was no stranger to his share of strong words either – but Lainie got the impression that it had been almost an exclusive means of communication in his old life. 

“Nothing jumps out?”  Ah, the challenge of finding a suitable niche.  Lainie herself had considered teaching before finding a love affair with the law.

Justin shrugged.  “Not really.  I mean, a couple of things do, but I can’t do them.”

Lainie sat down next to her second child.  It felt good, to have to number them.  Clay had been a rough pregnancy, and she had been advised against more children.  She and Matt had wanted at least two.  Matt had often spoken of being an only child, and how he’d felt very lonely as a result.  “You don’t think you’re smart enough?”

“No, it’s…it’s not that.  I can’t do a lot of these because of my record.”

Ah, yes.  She had wondered when that would come up.  “I assume you were told about having a felony on your record?”

“Yeah.”  Justin swiped at his face.  “I mean, I knew there’d be consequences, coming clean at Hannah’s trial and all…”

“I did try to explain that to you.”  There was no judgment or reprobation in Lainie’s voice.  She knew that testifying to his involvement – however tangentially – in the rape of the Davis girl had been paramount to Justin.  In some ways, he and Clay shared the same habit of determination and self-sacrifice to reach a desired goal, and the goal in this case was well worth the cost.

“I know.  And I’d do it again.  God, every time I think about that night, about what a fu— I mean, what an idiot I was, I wanna go back and slap the hell out of the old me.”  Justin scowled, more out of disgust at his past actions than at anything else.  “But now…”

“Second thoughts?”

Justin shrugged his thin shoulders.  “A little.  I mean, not for helping Jess, or taking down Bryce – ‘cause both of those things needed to happen – but, like, here,” he said, pulling up a turquoise sheet.  “I kinda thought being a social worker might be cool.  You know, I got some real-life experience with it and all.  I wanted to help other kids like me not make the same mistakes I made.  Or help them get out of…crappy situations and stuff.”

“I think you’d make a great social worker, Justin, if you really want to go for it.”

“That’s just it.  To be a social worker, I can’t have a record.  Like, _nothing._   I can’t get a license.  All because I was a dumbass.”

Lainie sighed, then patted Justin’s tense arm.  Her boys had a tendency to do the research, and still come up short.  “Justin, you can be a social worker.  In fact, you can be anything you want.”

Justin stared at his adoptive mother, confused.  “But…I mean, _how_ _?_   I can’t erase what happened.  I can’t travel back in time.”

“No, that’s true.  But you _do_ live in the state of California, which is a pretty good place to live if you want to straighten yourself out after committing a crime. Especially if you committed a crime as a juvenile.”

“Huh?”

“California law allows for someone to apply to have their juvenile records sealed, if their crime was not a major one.”

“Um, isn’t sexual assault a major crime?  Cause if it’s not, it sure as hell _should_ be!”  Justin was fuming.  His face had grown nearly scarlet as he finished his thought.

“Justin, you were charged as an accessory.  And while that is a serious crime, it is not listed as a serious _enough_ crime to warrant not being able to seal your juvenile record.  The law looks at several things, and one of them is whether or not your crime particularly heinous…”

“What?”

“…was it very serious?  Like, murder is a serious crime.  Rape is a serious crime.  Kidnapping is a serious crime.  There’s a list I can show you in my legal forms online.”  Seeing Justin visibly deflate back to a normal stance, she continued.  “Do you know what being an accessory is, Justin?”

“Kind of.”  Justin’s eyebrows furrowed, indicating his willingness to understand.  “Basically, because I didn’t report Bryce when it was happening, or get help, I’m guilty of helping him.  And by not reporting him afterward, that makes me guilty too.”

“Close enough.” Lainie gave a tight smile.  “This is why we encourage people to come forward about such crimes.  Sometimes there are extenuating circumstances that make doing the right thing difficult, like a clear threat to a person’s life or loved ones if they come forward, but by and large it is expected that people report crimes if they know they are taking place.”

Justin sat, head sunk onto the table.  “I know.  I mean, I know that now.  God, I was so _fucking_ stupid!”

“Well, that aside, that’s what makes you an accessory to a crime.  But, there is good news.”

The curly head lifted a little, showing Lainie the blue eyes she knew made girls swoon.  “Really?”

“Yes.  Being an accessory is _not_ considered a serious enough crime in the state of California to warrant not sealing a juvenile record.  That’s important, Justin.  Since your probation is up, and you turn eighteen in February, after your birthday I can help you file papers to ask that your record is sealed.”

“So…what?  Like, it just goes away?”

Lainie smiled.  “In a manner of speaking, yes.  There are still some restrictions under federal law, for federal positions and such, but on a state level, sealing your record means that, in the eyes of the law, it never happened.  If asked on a job application whether you had committed a crime, you could lawfully say ‘no’ and not be punished for it.”  She reached out and ran her hands through her second child’s hair.  “In other words, you _could_ get that social work license, if you wanted.  Is that something you’d like to consider?”

Justin’s eyes widened as though he’d been told the Davis girl would marry him.  “Are you kidding?!  Yes, I’d love that!”

“Well, we’ll start on the paperwork in March.  Leaves a cushion of time between the filing and your eighteenth birthday.”

“Wow.  That’s…that’s fucking awesome!  Thanks, Lainie!”

“No problem.  Looking forward to the ‘job thing’ now?”

“Yeah.”  Justin grew somber a moment.  “Um, Lainie…?”

“Yes, Justin?”

Justin fidgeted a little in his seat.  “Um…just out of curiosity…”

“…will Bryce Walker have the same courtesy extended to him?”

“Uh, yeah.  I mean, I’d really hate to think he just basically got away with his sh—his stuff.”

Lainie’s lips tightened into a thin smile.  “His charge was felony sexual assault.  In the eyes of California law, he would get to seal his record, but he’d still have to register as a sex offender.  Even with his money and influence, it would be hard to explain why he has to register on the sex offender registry when, legally speaking, he has no record.”

“Wait.  He has to register even _after_ they seal his record?”

“It’s a quirk of the law.  Because it happened technically when he was a minor.  Bryce was…seventeen when it happened?”

Justin nodded.  “Yeah.  Jess’s party was in August.  Bryce’s birthday is in September.  He just made it.  Bastard.”

“Well, like I said, because of a quirk, he still has to register.  So, to answer your question…no, he doesn’t get off _completely_ scott-free.  You, on the other hand, do.  And, if I judge it correctly, you get off with Jessica Davis’s blessing.”

Her son blushed.  “Yeah.  I mean, I can’t forgive myself, and I know she can’t completely forgive me, but…we’re okay, now.  She doesn’t hate me anymore, and that’s better than I deserve.”

Lainie pulled him into a hug.  “Take what you can get, kiddo.”  She released him.  “Now, what say we settle on some dinner?  Matt’s working late tonight, and it seems Clay is settled.”

“Chinese?”

A pair of keys flew out of Lainie’s jacket pocket.  “I’ll drive.”


End file.
